The Sleepless in the Solitude
by GalaxieGurl
Summary: No one in the Booth-Brennan family is getting much sleep at night, amid Booth's sudden violent disappearance and all the questions it has raised.
1. Chapter 1

The Sleepless in the Solitude

Temperance Brennan turned over in bed for the umpteenth time. Unable to sleep, she buried her tear-streaked face in Booth's t-shirt, breathing deeply to calm herself with his inhaled scent. The baby would be awake for another feeding in 45 minutes and she desperately needed some rest. Intellectually, she knew Agent Miller was just doing her job; that IA agents always came off seeming adversarial because of their role in the FBI. She knew it wasn't rational to abhor the woman, but Booth had diluted her resolute rationality over the years with his 'brain and heart, Bones, brain and heart' philosophy. Their fierce love for and devotion to one another had melded them into a single being. Missing her other half, Brennan could barely breathe, live, or function. But she HAD to move forward, care for their children, read the bones, follow the clues, digging and clawing until she'd found her husband, cleared him of suspicion, and cared for his wounds.

Padme had looked daggers at her during their visit. Brennan knew Jared's loss hurt her deeply, despite their recent quarrels. She had to find the answers to restore her family and Padme too. She sighed and looked at the bedside clock. 2:45. The bedroom doorknob turned, and the door opened a crack as a small head peeked in. "Mommy? I can't sleep. I miss Daddy. Can I get in bed with you?" Christine asked hesitantly. She knows her mother has to feed her baby brother at night. And a big sister has to be considerate of that, her father had said.

"Christine, sweetie, yes, come here," Brennan said softly. She pulled back the covers and nestled the little girl beside her. "I know you miss Daddy, I do too, Go back to sleep, honey. You have school in the morning." Brennan tucked Christine's her hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. The little girl curled into her and is soon asleep again. Her mother stifled a sob. How many times has Booth done the same with her hair? Where is he? How badly is he injured? What on earth was he doing out there?" Her mind swam with agonizing unanswered questions.

A hungry whimper came through the baby monitor. Their son was awake again, wanting his mother, needing them both. Wearily, Brennan sat up in bed, wiped her eyes, and pushed back the covers. Sliding her hand over the cool sheets on Booth's empty side of the bed, she sighed and sobbed again. Careful not to wake Christine, she gently tucked their daughter in. Standing, she walked down the hall into the nursery and picked the baby up. She hugged him tight, inhaled his sweet baby scent and spoke softly. "Hungry, little guy? Let's get you changed and fed."

Settled in Gram's antique wooden rocker that Booth and Parker had refinished before Christine's birth, Brennan watched her son nurse contentedly and longed to share his placid unconcerned state of mind. The baby gazed up at her with his father's brown eyes. Brennan closed hers and whispered a prayer to a God she didn't really believe in, but Booth did. "Keep him safe, bring him home, help us find him, please."

oooooooooooooooo

Across town sitting on a grimy basement floor, leaning heavily against a rough brick wall, Booth pressed a torn blood-sogged t-shirt against his oozing abdominal wound, and stared up at the moon through a small dingy barred window. "Give me strength, give her strength, help me get home to them, please," he prayed desperately.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 The Incongruous in the Agent

After a turbulent night, Brennan was jarred awake from a brief fitful sleep by her alarm clock buzzing. Her eyes felt gritty, and she was glad she didn't wear contact lenses. "Gotta be grateful for small things and think positively like Booth would," she told herself.

"Booth." His dear name brought more tears to her eyes. "Enough of this," she scolded herself. "I need to return to the lab for more investigation of Jared's remains." Without waking Christine, she slid out of bed and stood beside it, assuming a mountain pose. Slowly and purposefully, she performed a sequence of yoga exercises to relieve her stress, focus her mind, and bring a modicum of peace to her day's beginning. She knew it was an artificial calm, but the familiar moves grounded her a little.

She heard Hank babbling to himself through the baby monitor. His happy chatter made her smile a bit. Picking him up out of his crib, Brennan buried her nose in his baby scent and kissed the top of his head. He grinned at her and grabbed a lock of hair. Once he had nursed, she turned on his music box and laid him on his back to observe the mobile Parker had made for Christine and updated with pictures for his little brother.

She took a quick shower and chose a comfortable outfit for the day. Dressed, she sat on the side of the bed and gently shook her daughter. "Chrissy, time to wake up."

"Is Daddy home?" the sleepy girl asked. "No, he's still working, honey," Brennan answered, hugging her.

"Grandpa Max is going to pick you and Hank up from daycare," Brennan began.

"Hank is going to the Jeffersonian?!" Christine interrupted in surprise.

"Yes, for today, Mommy needs to go into the lab to help Aunt Cam and Aunt Angela on a project."

Her cell phone chimed the opening measures of _Girls Just Wanna Have Fun_. "Brennan."

"Dr. Brennan, can I pick you all up this morning? Aubrey asked. "I'll help you with the kids and then go to the diner for coffee. I've got some information to share with you."

An hour later, they sat at a table in the corner coffee and pastries in front of them.

"Caroline learned that Agent Miller's partner has also been missing for the last five days," Aubrey told her in a low voice. "In light of her comments to me about trusting a partner and then learning that a friend is a suspect, I'm thinking Agent Henderson might be part of the 5 man team Booth's involved with. Caroline feels there's more to this than meets the eye, and said for you to stay calm around this lady. She's not telling us everything, and we need to use caution around her. I will keep you posted on whatever I find out, but just keep your cool with her."

Brennan's jaw tightened; her eyes hardened to an ice blue. "That certainly contaminates the water," she muttered.

Confused, Aubrey stared at her, then chuckled. "You mean that muddies the water?"

"Yes, let's hope this isn't another conspiracy against Booth by his own department. They've caused us more than enough trauma for two lifetimes!"

"Dr. Brennan, just lay low, do your thing at the lab, and alert me to any clues you find in the remains," Aubrey suggested. "I'll call you as soon as I know anything new," he assured her.

 _A/N: I'm not sure how much I will add to this story. Stewing over the fact that we have to wait a week to gain any resolution to Booth's disappearance and Brennan's dismay is aggravating me. Agent Miller appears to be what my mom would call 'a snake in the grass.' Thursday evening can't come soon enough._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 The Chill in the Child

There's been a lot going on in our house lately. Some of it I don't understand, and that makes my tummy hurt. Mommy was sad this morning when I asked her if Daddy was home. Her eyes looked like she was gonna cry. She said Daddy is working. I really missed him reading to me before bed tonight.

Daddy was gone in the summer last year too, and Mommy was sad then. I spent a lot of time with Grandpa Max, and Mommy was always at work. When Daddy finally came home, he was skinny like my model skeleton. He played with me, but sometimes it hurt him to pick me up. He tried not to let me know, but I could tell by his face and how he moved slower than usual.

All the grown ups at Mommy's lab seem up tight. They smile at me when they talk but their eyes aren't happy. Aunt Cam and Angela and Uncle Hodgins look at me like they are worried when they don't think I'm watching them. Mr. Aubrey and Mr. Charlie do too.

Mommy has to wake up at night to feed baby Hank. She looks tired. I'm trying to be good and help with chores, but she's still sad under her smiles, I think. Hank makes her laugh, but just for a minute. I wish Grand Pops was still here, I could ask him how to help her. I asked Grandpa Max, but he just told me everything was gonna be okay, and hugged me again. Then he said I could help him set the table for supper. His eyes look sad too.

Yawn. I'm getting sleepy, I'm gonna think about this more tomorrow. I already said my prayers, but I think I'll say one more for Daddy. "Mr. God, this is Christine Booth. Please bless my Daddy, and make him come home soon. I really miss him, Mr. God. Thank you, Amen."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Agents Harris and Morris exchanged information via their wrist radios. If this situation hadn't been so grim and critical, it would have reminded one of them of a scene from a Dick Tracy comic strip from years ago. But one of their own was in serious danger, partly due to his extensively bleeding untreated medical trauma; and partly from the unscrupulous and misguided team of former military men he'd been forced to join in an effort to save his brother's life. Now his own hung in the balance.

Booth had gone to Jared's aid yet again, this time to no avail. His brother was dead and the bullet wound to his abdomen was turning septic. The men secreted in the basement of Victor Mausborian's mansion were relishing the haul they had taken from the vintage safe, and had no idea their activities had been exposed. Planning how to leave the mansion undetected, they demanded to know if Booth was with them til the end. Agent Miller's former partner, concerned about Booth's injury, had told their leader, Kevin O'Donnell, that he needed medical attention. Jared's former Army sergeant had firmly refused. "No doctors, no hospitals!"

Booth grimaced but held himself erect despite the increasingly intense pain. "Let's finish this. We need to wait for darkness and slip out singly to avoid suspicion," he suggested.

"No! We move together! At midnight," O'Donnell countered. Although they knew the FBI had found the bodies upstairs, they had escaped detection in the basement, since all but Booth were gone at the time, and he feigned unconsciousness when they returned.

Outside, an FBI SWAT team waited silently for the agents' signal. Once it was given, they silently affixed a magnetic device to the mansion's front door and unlocked it for the second time. Another team mirrored their actions at the back of the house, then waited to cover that exit and prevent any escapes. Slipping inside, they made their stealthy way to the basement entrance.

As the basement door was breached, the men below realized the 'gig was up.' They reached for their weapons, Booth slumping to the floor as he attempted to do so. The FBI agents and SWAT team were quicker, tazing the treacherous trio to avoid retaliation. The three disgrunted team members were hand-cuffed and led away. An EMT squad descended the stairs to assess Booth's injuries.

Lester Morris reached for his cell phone and called Dr. Brennan, who was waiting in a SUV down the street. "We have him, he's safe. The medics are checking him out right now. Harris is calling an ambulance. Come on, Dr. Brennan. You can go with Booth to the hospital."

Oooooooooooooo

A few minutes later, Brennan cradled her husband's head as he lay on a gurney. "Oh, Booth…," she murmured There were no words between them, only a gentle but significant kiss. He opened his eyes and looked up at her. She saw pain, love, grief, regret, and disgust reflected in his silent stare. There would be time for communication and passion once he had healed. Right now, his recovery was tantamount. Brennan knew without a word from the medics that he'd be headed to surgery the moment they reached Washington General. His loss of blood, the depth of the wound, and its deteriorating condition made immediate removal of the bullet imperative. She closed her eyes and thanked Booth's God and her Universe for sparing his life.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 The Comfort in the Conclusion

 **A/N: I'm disappointed that my myopic predictions of how Booth's basement predicament would end turned out wrong in so many ways. My crystal ball isn't. He didn't exit by gurney, but on his own two feet. Of course, how silly of me; he is, after all, a former Army Ranger. He didn't need rescuing, he walloped that thug all by himself. I'm still wondering what happened to Kevin O'Donnell. To wind up this story, here is my version of what happened after Booth returned home after his surgery and hospitalization. Mind you, he's recuperating, so no heroics are allowed.**

Oh, yeah, I forget to add this every time. I don't own any of Bones, never have or will. If I did, the series wouldn't ever end and all your great fan fiction would be made into episodes!

Brennan crawled into bed after settling baby Hank in his crib. Booth had just completed his nightly lock-up tour of their house, and gingerly joined her. He had been home from the hospital for a week, and was still enduring plenty of aches and pains.

"I wish your magic fingers could fix my discomfort like your rotating adjustments used to on my back," he grumbled to Brennan. "I'm not bouncing back as quickly as I'd hoped this time."

"A gunshot wound is a serious injury, Booth," Brennan lectured him a bit. "It took me a long time to feel normal after Dr. Batuhan shot me with that ice bullet," she reminded him.

"You and I don't seem capable of avoiding trouble, Bones."

Brennan kissed him and leaned against his shoulder. "I don't understand men like Benjamin Metzker, and David Batuhan. They both ruined exceptionally successful careers by becoming greedy. They were highly educated and acclaimed in their respective fields. Neither of them needed all that money to sustain a comfortable life style, and the risks they took were enormous. Now they are both in prison for years to come."

"They aren't as inherently good as you, Bones. They saw a chance to make some 'easy money' and went for it. You've made lots of money but it hasn't affected you. You use your talents and good fortune to help other people; like building that bridge in West Virginia and endowing scholarships. You're the most generous loving person I know despite what you thought when I first met you."

"Well, you're the bravest, most selfless man I know, risking your life to save others. To me, that counts for more than giving money," Brennan countered. "If anything had happened to you…. When I thought you might be dead, like Jared…."she choked up, unable to talk.

"Hey, hey, no more tears, Bones. I'm safe and back home for good. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you what I was doing, but it was too dangerous. I knew you'd try to follow, and I needed you to stay in one piece for the kids."

"At least for tonight, we can agree we're the Good Guys. Now let's get some sleep before Hank needs feeding again, my brave girl. Can you turn off the lamp? It still hurts me too much to reach."

They lay snuggled together in the darkness for a few minutes, then Brennan spoke again. "Booth, I have an idea. When we have Jared's memorial service, let's include a tribute to Pops. I know he had a nice funeral, but he made you both into the brave men you became, and I think it would be fitting."

After a few moments of silence, Brennan spoke again. "Booth, you okay?"

He swallowed a sob, and shuddered, struggling not to break down. "Bones, you're amazing. That would please them both so much. God, I miss them."

 _Post Script: Thank you to all the readers who have favorited, followed, and reviewed my story. It didn't turn out to quite match the episode, but since I'm not Avalon, that's to be expected. I appreciate your support, your comments, and your patronage!_


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